New chef brings worldwide experience to ACU's food services

For immediate release
Nov. 12, 2001

Abilene Christian University can now literally give students a small
taste of what to expect before they go out and try to change the world.
Gary Tharp, the new executive chef for ACU's cafeteria and on-campus restaurant
Reservations Only, has added a wide variety of international dishes to the
menu based on his past experiences as a chef all over the world.

Before coming to ACU in August, Tharp was executive chef on a European
cruise ship, worked for the Disney Corporation in Tokyo and most recently
taught culinary arts at the Institute of Art in Los Angeles, Calif. He also
has cooked for U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
as well as the pope.

Tharp moved to ACU after taking a job with ARAMARK, the university's
food service company, and wanting to live closer to his family in San Antonio.
The new chef said he has particularly enjoyed working with students since
relocating to ACU.

"I'm really committed to doing things for the students," Tharp
said. "It's more of a stewardship than a job for me." Since taking
over the Bean, ACU's cafeteria, Tharp has prepared dishes from places such
as Paris, Rome and Istanbul, Turkey. He said providing meals from such varied
cultures has many benefits for students.

"It gives them a wider horizon to different things," Tharp
said. The chef said he has gotten a positive response concerning the menu
changes, as well as additions such as brunch every Sunday from 11:30 a.m.
to 2 p.m. in the Bean.

Tharp, who has been a certified executive chef for 21 years, also is
working on an 18-foot tall gingerbread house to be displayed in the Bean
starting on Nov. 28. His other cooking specialties include chocolate statues,
cocoa paintings and cheese carvings.

If you are a member of the media who would like more information
about this release, please contact Wendy Kilmer, university news
coordinator, at wendy.kilmer@acu.edu,
or call 915-674-2692. Last update: Nov. 12, 2001